Cuba
 

My wife has finally agreed to go with me to Cuba on holiday . She understands a 5 star hotel in Cuba will not be up to the standard of a 5 star hotel in other parts of the world e.g. Dubai , Europe or Asia .
She would like reassurance that the standard of cleanliness , bedding etc will be of a high standard . If anyone has experience of what their best hotels are like i would be grateful . We intend to spend a few days in Havana and about a week in Varadero probably in 5 star hotels .

All hotels in Cuba are state-owned. The government has turned management of some of the bigger hotels over to foreign chains, primarily Spanish and Canadian ones. (There's no Marriott or Holiday Inn or Sheraton in Cuba.) Standards seem to be higher at these foreign-managed hotels. The Spanish chain Meliá does a decent job. It operates properties in Cuba under the names Meliá, Tryp, Sol, and Paradisus. It has lodgings in Havana and Varadero.

www.meliacuba.com

We went into a 4 stars hotel in la Havana that was worth a 5 stars anywhere else in the world - Inglaterra.

Much better than a lot of 4* in France I've been to.

Hotel National was superb but too expensive for us - we just had a tea or a whisky there.

Quite a few years ago though. 15 ?

We stayed at the Parque Central in Havana, it was a very nice 5 star hotel to international standards. Location was great too. Breakfast was great esp the coffee. I would recommend this hotel.
We also went to Varadero and stayed in a 5 star hotel which was to international standards, no issues with cleanliness, bedding or anything. I think your wife is worrying unnecessarily.

When a group of fourteen was in Habana, Cuba in March 2015, we stayed at the comfortable Roc Hotel Presidente. While at lunch one day and sitting near my stellar guide, I asked her what were the best hotels in Habana. She relayed them to me and stated that Byonce and JayZ, two popular music icons from the US stayed at the Hotel Saratoga; she also told me that the US delegation which had been in Habana a few weeks earlier stayed at the same venue.

After I read your inquiry, I did a www.bing.com check and found this wonderful website which is worth checking out: http://www.captivatingcuba.com/cuba/...ve_hotels.html. Your situation, I think, will be solved all except for making reservations which is a must now due to the omnipresent interest in this island nation in the Caribbean.

[The Nacional Hotel was once the supreme hotel of Habana; it's apparently comforable and quite pleasant today because many groups of tourists and others stay and have stayed there. I've only had meals here.]

We have decided to stay in a "casa particular" in Havana and indeed in the rest of Cuba during our 3 week trip [Jan '16] - I will report back on how we find them.

Annhig, we reserved about 10 or 11 casa particulars for a group of people. All were pretty good places except for ours. We were glad we got the not so good one and not any of the other guests. We left ours within 2 hours on the day we arrived and stayed elsewhere. Even with this glitch in the plan, we enjoyed our visit to Havana.

Thanks Marianna. Sorry that you had a problem and I hope that we have picked a good one! I think that we will be stuck with at least one night there as we arrive quite late and wouldn't be able to find another one even if we wanted to.

we will also need time to change some money - did you do that at the airport or elsewhere?

The Melia Habana is a very nice hotel with a wonderful pool in the Miramar section of Havana. It is clean with good food complimented by wonderful ocean breeze. Lots of great restaurants are in this section of town (it is the embassy district). There is a free shuttle to Old Havana (15min ride). There is banking at the nearby Hotel Panorama.

Also the Hotel Nacional is pure magic - dripping with history and nostalgia. The rooms are clean & nice. You feel like you are in a movie. Romantic too. Unless she is a totally uptight, your wife will love it.

thanks for the tips, seadog.

We will certainly aim to spend an evening at the Hotel Nacional.

Thanks for all your helpful replies . I'm sure my wife will be fine . I think she was slightly put off by stories from my son who recently returned from a trip to Cuba but he was staying in very inexpensive budget accommodation ( and loved Cuba) . Will let you know how we get on but have not booked anything yet .

all the information I am reading is that Cuba, and in particular Havana, are becoming very busy.

when you decide when to go, I suggest making reservations sooner rather than later.